Biocompatible materials or biomaterials are inert compounds designed to be implanted or incorporated within a live system for the purpose of replacing and/or regenerating live tissues and their functions. Various biomaterials which promote cell proliferation, support physiological loads and are easy to handle and synthesize have been developed in tissue engineering (Biomaterials 27 (2006) 1889-1898; Biomaterials 26 (2005) 3215-322). Among these materials there are various types of biocompatible polymers which, furthermore, are often biodegradable (Nature Biotechnology, Volume 20, June 2002 (602-606); Macromolecules 1997, 30, 2876-2882; Macromol. Biosci. 2001, 1, 91-99; Polymer Degradation and Stability 91 (2006) 733-739). Some materials have a low viscosity under synthesis conditions but are capable of polymerizing and forming gels under physiological conditions, which allows them to be injectable and prevents the need for surgery (Biomacromolecules 2006, 7, 288-296; Biomaterials 26 (2005) 3941-3951). There are abundant examples and combinations in the scientific literature. By way of a sample, Byeongmoon et al. (Macromolecules 33, 8317-8322, 2000) describe the synthesis of a block biopolymer which is biodegradable because it contains organic acids such as lactic acid and glycolic acid and biopolymers such as polyethylene glycol capable of gelling under physiological conditions without causing tissue irritation and which are furthermore biodegradable and resorbable by the organism. However, the materials of this type cannot support physiological loads because they lack hardness, therefore they are mechanically ineffective when they are used in load structures such as bones in animals or branches in plants. Furthermore, some polymers experience deformations when they are exposed to high temperatures or to stress for a prolonged time period and experience a deterioration which is so fast that it sometimes does not allow the complete repair of the structure before the degradation of the polymer. To solve this problem, a series of composite materials using bioceramics have been designed in the field of the art. The ceramics increase the hardness and reduce the rate of degradation of the polymer. It is generally desirable for the bioceramic particles to be homogeneously distributed in the biodegradable polymer so that the properties of the compound are also homogeneous. Some medical implants of structural elements of the body, such as bones, are occasionally manufactured with a polymer/ceramic composite material. International patent application WO-2008036206-A1 describes an implantable composite material of biopolymer and bioceramic, which facilitates the resistance and reduces the wear of the implant. Unlike injectable polymers, these implants are normally formed outside the body and are placed by means of surgery. Unfortunately, such implants have problems of adaptation to the target surfaces, which are normally irregular, have cracks or a non-standard morphology.
In certain types of injuries, a treatment strategy in which the implant is a platform for the reconstruction of the tissue is possible. Various patent applications are known in the state of the art which describe the preparation of platforms with very diverse features. A critical problem for the correct operation of these platforms is their correct adjustment to the irregularities of the structure to be treated. However, once molded, these compounds cannot be remodeled either in order to be accurately adjusted to the surface to be repaired. International patent application WO-2007092559-A1 describes a composite material of bioceramic and biodegradable biopolymers suitable for bone implants. The composition of the composite material described therein provides it with a suitable rigidity for physiological loads but prevents the correct adaptation to the surface to be repaired.
The inventors of the present application have surprisingly discovered that a material made up of a bioceramic and a block polymer formed by rigid blocks alternated with flexible blocks, such as polyethylene glycol polymers for example, allows remodeling after the hardening of the platform. A platform with an initial morphology which can be remodeled by means of mechanical forces when implanting it for its perfect adaptation to the surface to be repaired can thus be created. This material can furthermore be applied in fields other than the biomedicine field, for example in tissue engineering of plants, as a platform for grafts or as a rooting inducer.